No it’s not the motto for Nike. More precisely it’s ‘don’t try, just do it.’ I got this fantastic word of advice from a stranger i met at a camera service center. I innocently interrupted the conversation between him and the technical staff by asking the technical staff basic questions on the usage of a DSLR which i just bought. He was just standing beside him listening to the whole conversation.

He cut in the conversation and volunterily offered a free comprehensive introductory lesson on the fundamentals behind photography using a DSLR camera, FREE OF CHARGE. I called it ‘qarah’ that’s the hebrew word for happen or to encounter. I am blessed indeed, he is a reputable blogger and photographer. He was kind, gracious and very helpful, he didn’t brush off my basic questions. Later, he gave me his name card and took a walk with me.

There’s a famous quote by Yoda from ‘Starwars’, ‘do or do not, there is no try’. although he is fictional, you can’t help but to be inspired by the philosophical wisdom that is behind the meaning of this quote. He told me that his piece of advice for me was originally by Yoda. Infact, we should thank the ingenious creator behind Yoda, George Lucas.

Many times in life, when we ‘try to do things’, instead of achieving the results we want we end up getting a negative outcome. We ‘try to kick this bad habit’, ‘try to not be late for work’ or ‘try to make more money’. When we try to do things, i think it means that we don’t want the desired goal bad enough. If you can’t do it with a clear-cut resolve, then i suggest you don’t try it in the first place.

If you want something done, there is no maybe or perhaps, just go for it. It is important you examine what is the posture or attitude you are of when you are getting something done. When you are trying, what it means is it doesn’t matter if you fail, you can just give up and move on. But truly doing it means, there are no other options, you set certain goals, each with whatever steps necessary to achieve them no matter what and even if you fail, you simply refuse to give up because giving up is not an option.

When you are doing something and not trying, you enjoy the process of getting it done, it’s not a chore to you, instead of struggling, you feel comfortable in your own skin, feeling as if you were born to do this. There might be a storm in life you are going through but in your heart there’s a calm, because you believe it is only temporal but your determination is long lasting. You have the resilience and peserverance in you required to do it again and again untill you succeed.

If Thomas Edison tried to invent a light bulb, the world would still be using candles to see at night now. Thank God for Thomas Edison. No one else knew how at that time, he was the only one destined to invent the first light bulb. He succeeded because of his strong determination and unshakable resolve in making the light bulb work even if it means taking 1,000 steps.

If you are trying you are going to give up. But if you are doing, you will never give up until one day you finally make it. Some people are overweight, they chose it, they didn’t want it but year after year their weight isn’t dropping, because they try to lose weight. Whereas those who just lose weight, they see themselves fit even before they start losing weight, they are smiling on their way to the gym, because they are doing and they are not trying. It might be a tough and arduous journey for those who want to lose weight, the easy way is never the best way.

Are there certain areas in your life you might be trying, i encourage you to do a simple exercise. List a number of things in your life that you are trying to do which might be stopping you from fulfilling your dream. Now you are going to turn them from a ‘trying to do’ to a ‘do’. For eg, ‘i am trying to save money’ to ‘i am saving money’. Next you are going to write down the necessary steps you need to take in order to achieve that goal and stick to them no matter what. Remember failing might be an option but giving up is not. It’s time to burn the bridge.

Just doing alone is still not exactly scripturally the most accurate way of effortless success. Spiritually speaking from a stand point of a christian, i believe you are trying when you are striving or using your self effort. Self-effort has it’s limits it can only bring you as far to the point where you are struggling for that breakthrough that you desire.

However, the opposite of self effort is coming under the effect of grace. Self effort is demand-orientated whereas grace is supply-orientated. Doing things under grace is a whole new level, you put God’s supply in the equation of your limited abilities and finite resources, you bring your emptiness to the inexhaustible supply of God’s fullness.

Whatever you put in His hands multiply effortlessly, you might be a high school drop out, but by His grace He gives you the breakthroughs, open the doors and let you meet the right people you need to build a multi-million dollar business. Self-effort is trusting in yourself, grace is trusting in the unmerited favor of a loving savior.

What God has to give you has nothing on your part to deserve it, just pure unearned, unmerited favor. You touch the supernatural and miraculous realm when you are under grace. You might say, ‘But i don’t deserve it.’ Precisely, grace wouldn’t be called grace if it was deserved. That is the nature of God, He is a big God, a gracious and compassionate God. Jesus paid the price at the cross to bring grace to a suffering world.